1 Johan 3
1 Aicae loe Sithaw caa ah a oh o, tiah kawk thai hanah, Sithaw loe kawbaktih amlunghaih maw aicae nuiah tawnh, tito khen oh: long mah Anih panoek ai pongah, aicae doeh panoek ai.
[Think about] how much our [heavenly] Father loves us! He allows us to (say that we are/be called) his children! [And it is indeed true that] we are [his children. But people in] the world [MTY] [who are unbelievers] have not understood [who] God [is]. So they do not understand [who we are], that we [belong to God].
2 Palung ih kaminawk, aicae loe vaihi Sithaw caa ah ni a oh o boeh, hmabang ah kawbaktih kami ah maw a om o tih, tito amtueng ai vop: toe anih amtueng naah aicae loe Anih baktiah a om o tih, tito a panoek o; Anih to angmah baktih toengah a hnu o tih.
Dear friends, even though (at present/now) we are God’s children, [he] has not yet (made clear/revealed) [to us] what we will be like [in the future]. However, we know that when [Christ] comes back again, we will be like him, because we will see what he is [really] like.
3 Anih ah oephaih tawn kami loe, Anih ciimcai baktih toengah, angmah hoi angmah to ciimcai ah khosak.
[So], all those who confidently expect [to see Christ as he actually is/what Christ is like when he returns] must keep themselves pure in every way, just like Christ, who is pure in every way.
4 Mi kawbaktih doeh zaehaih sah kami loe kaalok doeh a aek: zae, tiah thuih ih lok loe kaalok aekhaih hae ni.
But everyone who continues sinning is refusing to obey [God’s] laws, because that is what sin is, refusing to obey [God’s] laws.
5 Toe anih loe aicae zaehaihnawk lak ving han ih ni amtueng, tito na panoek o; anih ah zaehaih om ai.
You know that Christ came in order to completely remove [the guilt of] our sins. You know also that he never sinned.
6 Mi kawbaktih doeh anih ah om kami loe zaehaih sah ai: zaehaih sah kami loe anih to hnu ai, panoek doeh panoek ai.
Those who continue [doing what] Christ wants them to, do not continue sinning repeatedly. But those who repeatedly sin have not understood [who Christ is], nor have they had a close relationship with him.
7 Palung ih nawktanawk, mi mah doeh na ling o hmah nasoe: anih loe toeng baktih toengah, katoeng kami mah loe katoeng hmuen to sak.
[So I urge you, ] who are all very dear to me, do not let anyone deceive you [by telling you that it is all right to sin]. If you continue doing what is right, you are righteous, just like Christ is righteous.
8 Zaehaih sah kami loe taqawk ih kami ah ni oh; taqawk loe tangsuek natuem hoi boeh ni zaehaih to a sak. Sithaw Capa loe taqawk toksakhaihnawk to phraek han ih ni angzoh.
[But] if anyone continues sinning, he is like the devil, because the devil has always been sinning. [And] the reason why God’s Son became a human being was to destroy what the devil has done.
9 Sithaw mah tapen ih kami loe zaehaih sah ai; anih ih atii loe Sithaw ah oh poe: Sithaw mah tapen ih kami ah oh pongah, anih loe zae thai ai.
People do not continue sinning repeatedly if they have become children of God. Instead, [they] continue [to conduct their lives according to the character/nature that God produced in them] [MET]. They cannot continually sin because God has caused them to become his children.
10 Hae tiah Sithaw caa hoi taqawk caa to angmaat thaih: toenghaih sah ai kami, angmah ih amnawk palung ai kami loe Sithaw ih kami na ai ni.
Those who are God’s children are clearly different from those who are (the devil’s/Satan’s) children. [The way that we can know who are Satan’s children is this]: Those who do not do what is right are not God’s children. [Specifically], those who do not love their fellow believers are not [God’s children Instead, they are Satan’s children].
11 Aicae maeto hoi maeto amlung han oh, tiah thuih ih lok loe, tangsuek nathuem hoi na thaih o hmaloe ih lok ah oh.
The message that you heard when you first [MTY] [believed in Christ] is that we should love each other.
12 Kasae poekhaih katawn, amnawk kahum, Kain baktiah om o hmah. Tipongah anih mah angmah ih amnawk to hum? tiah thuih nahaeloe, anih mah sak ih hmuen loe toeng ai, amnawk mah sak ih hmuen to toeng pongah ni.
[We should] not [hate others] as did [Adam’s son], Cain, who belonged to [Satan], the evil one. [Because Cain hated his younger brother], he murdered him. (I will tell you about why he murdered his brother./Do you know why he murdered his brother [RHQ]?) It was because Cain habitually conducted his life in an evil way, and [he hated his younger brother] because his [younger] brother [conducted his life] righteously.
13 Nawkamyanawk, long mah na hnuma o nahaeloe, dawnrai o hmah.
You should not be amazed/surprised, my fellow believers, when [unbelievers] [MTY] hate you.
14 Nawkamyanawk to a palung o pongah aicae loe duekhaih thung hoiah a poeng o boeh moe, hinghaih thungah akun o boeh. Amnawk palung ai kami loe duekhaih thungah ni oh vop.
We know that we have been changed from [being spiritually] dead [MET] to [being spiritually] alive. We know this because we love our fellow believers. [Those who] do not love [their fellow believers] are still [spiritually] [MET] dead.
15 Nawkamya hnuma kami loe kami hum kami ah ni oh: kami hum kami loe dungzan hinghaih tawn ai, tito na panoek o. (aiōnios g166)
Those who hate [any of] their fellow believers, [God considers] [MET] them [to be] murderers. And you know that no murderer has eternal life. (aiōnios g166)
16 Aicae han a hinghaih paek pongah, aicae mah Sithaw amlunghaih to a panoek o: aicae mah doeh nawkamyanawk hanah aimacae hinghaih paek toeng han oh.
The way that we now know [how to truly] love [our fellow believers is by remembering] that Christ (voluntarily died/gave his life) for us. So, [when our fellow believers need something, we should be willing to help them. We should even be willing to] die for them.
17 Mi kawbaktih doeh hae long nuiah kahoih hmuennawk to tawnh mangh, nawkamya vawthaih doeh a hnuk e, anih nuiah tahmenhaih tawn ai nahaeloe, kawbangmaw Sithaw amlunghaih anih thungah om tih?
Many [of us] have the things that are necessary for us to live in this world. If we become aware that any of our fellow believers do not have what they need and [if we] refuse to ([provide for them/give to them what they need]), it is clear that we do not love God [as we claim/say that we do].
18 Nawktanawk, lok hoiah maw, palai hoiah maw amlung o hmah si; loktang hoi toksakhaih hoiah amlung o si.
[I say to] all of you whom I love dearly, let us not merely say [MTY] that [we love our fellow believers!] Let us genuinely/really love them by doing things [to help them]!
19 To tiah amlunghaih rang hoiah aicae loe loktang ih kami ah a oh o, tito amtueng, to pongah aicae loe Anih hmaa ah kamongah om tih.
When we [truly love our fellow believers], we can be sure that we are [conducting our lives according to] the true message. [As a result], we will not feel guilty/ashamed [when we talk] [MTY] to God.
20 Aimacae ih palung mah aicae zaehaih net cadoeh, Sithaw loe aicae ih palung pongah len kue, anih mah hmuennawk to panoek boih.
[We can pray confidently], because [although] we might feel guilty/ashamed [about our sins], God is (greater/more worthy to be trusted) than what we feel. He knows everything [about us].
21 Palung ih kaminawk, aimacae ih palung mah aicae zaehaih net ai nahaeloe, oephaih hoiah Sithaw khaeah a caeh o han oh.
Dear friends, when we do not feel guilty [because of our sins], we can pray to God confidently.
22 Anih mah thuih ih loknawk to a pazui o moe, a koeh ih hmuennawk to a sak o pongah, anih khae hoiah a hnik o ih hmuennawk to a hnuk o boih.
And, when we confidently pray to him and request [something from him], we receive it because we do what he commands [us to do], and because we do what pleases him.
23 Aicae han kaalok ang paek baktih toengah, aicae mah a Capa Jesu Kri ih ahmin to tang moe, maeto hoi maeto amlung han oh, hae loe anih mah paek ih kaalok ah oh.
[I will tell you] what he commands [us to do]: [We must] believe that Jesus Christ is (his Son/the one who is also God). [We must] also love each other, just like he commanded [us to do].
24 Anih mah paek ih kaalok tahngai kami loe Anih thungah oh, Anih doeh to kami thungah oh toeng. Anih mah aicae han paek ih Muithla rang hoiah ni Anih aicae thungah oh, tiah a panoek o.
Those who do what God commands are ones who have a close relationship with God, and God has a close relationship with them. [I will tell you how] we can be sure that God has a close relationship with us: It is because [we have] his Spirit, whom he gave to us, that we can be sure that God has a close relationship with us.
